The Social Media Sites Truckers Shouldn't Be Without

It is difficult to imagine life before social media. The ability to connect instantly with people worldwide seems so natural today, but was almost unheard of at the turn of the century. In the past truck drivers sacrificed precious time with family and friends when travelling overnight or days and weeks at a time.

Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr now give truck drivers the ability to stay in touch with their family and friends while on the road and to be a part of those monumental moments. Information technology has also taken advantage of social media, providing sometimes crucial information while on the go. With the invention of applications (known as apps) for smartphones, these online services are now readily accessible and as convenient as pressing the app icon on the mobile phone’s home screen.

One of the most popular sites for staying in touch with family is Facebook. Pictures and information are easily shared with people that have been “friended” by users. Keeping up with what is happening gives a sense of actually being there instead of hearing about the news days or weeks later upon returning home or stopping to make a phone call at a public phone booth.

Twitter is a great site for receiving important travel information and weather updates instantly, especially when used on a mobile phone. This social media site requires the user to setup a username. They can then “follow” other users ranging from individuals to company and media sites. Local and nationwide weather stations recently provided real time information via Twitter on tornadoes in certain areas and information on where the storms were headed next. This is valuable information to a truck driver who is on the road without access to a television.

With an hour of video being uploaded every second, there is no shortage of uses for the service offered by YouTube. If a driver were to have mechanical problems, he or she could peruse the billions of videos to find many that give visual instructions on all types of fixes. This site is also great for a wife or husband to share a video of the baby’s first steps or first words or for sending birthday wishes or sentiments of love within minutes.

Being on the road presents picture perfect scenes or “you have got to see this” moments that can be shared with others on social media sites via the popular site Flickr. This site allows the user to upload, save and organize photos to share with others. Flickr can be linked to other social media outlets to get the photos to friends, families and colleagues, and in turn view photos of happenings at home.

While phone calls are a more immediate form of staying in touch, it requires timing on the part of all parties to connect and does not provide a visual experience. With Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr, important travel, mechanical or other information can be obtained, and the experiences, thoughts and messages can be transmitted for viewing by the receiving party at their convenience. Modern technology has no bounds in bringing people from all areas of the world together in one cyberspace.